hey guys,
kaspersky seems to get some of the best reviews for its anti virus software. the kaspersky internet security includes a firewall also.
i trialed this latter product but found the firewall too sensitive - seemed to think that any user action or download was altering my registry, etc. eventually got tired of the constant authorisation prompts, etc.
however, i really liked the av part and fortunately a free version of the kaspersky av software is available from aol. it does by the the name active virus shield (avs).
here's a link:
http://www.activevirusshield.com/ant...eav/index.adp?
you only need to provide an email address for a registration key (so far (c3 months) i have received no junk mail) and u don't ned to use aol as your isp or pay them anything. i would definitely say that this av software is much better than avg free (which picks up very little); avast (girlfriend likes it but i think it slows the processor down and updates less frequently); or symantec /norton (slows computer and is close to impossible to truly uninstall!)
on the firewall side, i use zone alarm but am considering alternative. so far i have been unable to find an alternative quality free firewall - don't like comodo- so would appreciate any feedback. the most recent za update (
7.0.337.000.) caused me real grief - had to do a system restore and follow guidance on their forum on how to manually edit the registry, etc. that said, until now i'd had no problems.
summary: av? use the avs; firewall? za but the jury's out.